Wounds on a Rainy Night
by MalinTheSwede
Summary: A strange girl comes to Link's house in the night who seems oddly familiar. Oneshot. LinkxZelda.


(A/N: Uh, here's another oneshot for you. Not that any of you suckers care. Ha. Sorry. Okay, well, I don't have much to say. I never do...)

Disclaimer: I don't own, what's it called? Oh yeah! Zelda...

Wind. I felt it on my face as I sat on the small hill ripping small pieces of grass out of the ground and twirling them between my fingers. I was deep in thought about a woman. A woman named Zelda. Lately I had been thinking about her a lot. She was so beautiful. So perfect. I didn't know if I really loved her or if it was just a crush, but now I'm starting to think that it might actually be love. She could never know that I loved her, and even if I did have the courage to tell her, I just would never be able to tell her. So, here I sit watching goats graze happily below me. I looked up at the darkening sky and figured it was time to herd the goats back into their barn. I scanned the pasture for Epona and quickly spotted her grazing with three goats around her. She seemed to like them. I got up and began walking towards her. She saw me coming and ran up to me with a soft knicker, and I patted her face gently, making her shake her head playfully. I quickly mounted her and began to get to work. I was relieved when all the goats went in easily.

I finished in about two minutes, and when I was done, I just closed the gate and strode out into Ordon Village sitting high upon my faithful mare. No one was outside. People went to bed early most of the time. As I walked along the path, my thoughts went back to Zelda. I hadn't seen her in a while, at least, not since the final fight with Ganondorf. She just went home and I never heard from her. I guess that was to be expected. She hardly even knew me! She wouldn't be able to even recognize me in a crowd I bet. We would never be together, and I would have to learn to live with that.

I felt something wet on my nose. It was beginning to rain, and within seconds, rain was pouring out of the sky, soaking me from head to toe instantly. I didn't mind the rain most of the time, but I was eager to get inside my warm house. I stopped Epona right in front of the ladder that led up to my front door. I hopped off quickly and practically ran up the ladder and burst in the front door, shaking water off me. I quickly shut the door behind me and went over to the hearth to light a fire. As soon as I had one lit, I changed into some dry clothes and sat down at the table and began to read one of my old Hyrule history books. I didn't get too far because I heard a slightly panicked knock on my door. What the? Who could be knocking on my door this late? Nonetheless, I walked briskly over and opened it. There was a person(I'm pretty sure she was female, judging by her small frame) soaked with rain standing there looking anxious. I couldn't see her face, though, because she had a long cloak on and there was a hood over her head, covering most of her face.

"Can I come in sir?" It was a small female's voice that was oddly familiar.

"Sure." I ushered her into my small house.

"Thank you so much. That rain really took me by surprise!" That voice. I could have sworn I had heard it before.

"No problem, what should I call you?" I saw her head jerk up underneath the hood.

"Just call me...uh...Eve."

"Okay, Eve it is." I don't know why I thought she was lying, but I had a feeling that her name wasn't Eve. "I can hang up your cloak to dry if you want?" I offered.

"Umm, no I think I'll keep it on."

"Are you sure? You could get sick."

"Yeah."

Why was she keeping her soaked cloak on? I didn't understand it at all. "Well, you can at least sit down." I pointed to the chair that I had been sitting in.

"Thank you." She took a seat, quite slowly and carefully I might add, and appeared to be looking around. "Nice place."

"Eh, it's not much, but I like it enough. Would you like me to make you something to eat?"

"Yes please." She sounded a bit eager, so I quickly threw together the fixings for some soup. I was pretty good at making it, so it only took a couple of minutes. When it was done, I poured most of it into a bowl for her. I got a spoon out and placed it down next to the soup on the table. She immediately started eating it quickly.

"Take it easy." I looked at her, holding back a chuckle. She still hadn't taken her hood off. "Who are you really? Can I see your face?" I regretted asking this afterwards. It was much to bold to ask a lady that.

"I don't know." She paused from eating and appeared to be eying me. "All right." She lifted her hands up and pulled off her hood. I nearly fell off my chair.

"Princess?" I got up and bowed to her, blushing, trying to remember my manners. "What are you doing away from the castle?" I felt a little panicked inside. How was I supposed to act around her?

"I need a break sometimes." She frowned and her face twisted in what appeared to be pain for a moment. I heard her groan softly before she just seemed to brush it off and smile sweetly at me again.

"Your Highness, is everything all right?"

"Please, call me Zelda. And, yes, every thing's fine." She ate the rest of her soup in silence. "That was wonderful, Link"

"How do you remember my name?" I looked at her for a moment slightly incredulous.

"Link...I've been looking everywhere for you. How could I forget you?" She smiled so widely that I thought her face might explode. She tried to get up but she just sat back down and shivered.

I thought for a moment. "Are you sure you're all right?" I placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked first at my hand, then at me. "Yes, Link, I'm fine. So, tell me, what have you been doing?"

I sat down in the chair across the table. "After Ganondorf died, I just came back to my hometown and went back to the usual routine." I shrugged, not really knowing why I did. I looked over at my couch, which looked so comfy right now. "Why don't we sit on the couch." I got up and stretched.

"Okay." She got up and stood for a moment. Her face went totally pale and before I knew what was going on, she was falling to the ground. Luckily, I caught her in my arms just in time.

"Zelda?" I called. It was no good. She had fainted.

I picked her up more firmly and brought her over to the couch, laying her down gently on it. I noticed her breathing was irregular and she was very cold. I had to get this cloak off. I don't know if I could do that. Take her cloak off? It just doesn't feel right. I had to muster up the courage to do it. I knew I had to. I started unbuttoning it, and when I undid the last button, I peeled it off her, revealing a huge cut on her side. It was bleeding pretty heavily and the cold didn't help either. The clothes underneath the cloak were soaked to, but I certainly couldn't take those off. I thought for a moment. Uli's a woman. Maybe she could change her clothes. I ran out of the house into the rain again, this time towards Uli's house.

I reached the front door and banged on it brusquely. Uli opened it. "Link? Is that you?"

"Yes. I need your help immediately." I noticed my voice was shaking. Maybe I cared for Zelda more than I thought. I knew I cared for her though.

"With what?" She was all calm and serene while I was practically dying, along with Zelda.

"Just come to my house." I totally forgot about asking her to bring some clothes that would fit a seventeen year old girl. She just nodded and followed me back to my house, slower than I wanted. Finally, we reached my front door and I practically shoved her inside, leading her over to Zelda. She wouldn't know that the girl was the princess of Hyrule.

"Oh, Link, a girl!" She looked her over again and frowned. "What on earth happened?" She went down on her knees beside Zelda and examined the wound more carefully.

"I don't know. She just came to my house for shelter and then fainted a little while ago. She's soaked and I was wondering if you might change her clothes. I would have done it, but I'm not a female, last time I checked anyway. And..."

"Yes, Link, it was right for you to come and get me." She cut me off. "Do you have a change of clothes, though?"

"I'll find some." I ran off to find something in my wardrobe that would fit her somewhat. After all, we were roughly the same size. I'm not very tall. Or maybe Zelda's just really tall. I don't know. I found an old fencing T-shirt and some simple sweat pants. It wasn't anything a lady would wear, but no one would be seeing her except Uli and I. I brought them back out to Uli, and blushed beet red when I saw that she was already beginning to get the soaked clothes off Zelda. I quickly averted my eyes and handed the clothes to Uli, still blushing.

"Thank you." She sounded perfectly calm.

"Yeah." I stood there, frozen, with my head turned for about ten minutes until Uli finally said something.

"There, all done."

I turned around to see that Uli had dressed Zelda in my clothes very nicely. They fit her quite well, even though the shirt was a little big. "What about her cut?" I asked.

"I was hoping you could take care of that. I have kids that need taking care of. I'm sorry." She began to walk towards the door.

"It's okay. I will." I nodded dumbly as I watched her walk out the door. I turned my attention back to Zelda after I was sure she was long gone. I went over to one of my cabinets in the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of antiseptic, along with some bandages and a needle and thread. I had a feeling that the cut would need stitches. I knew how to do it. I often had to take care of my own wounds after battles. I walked back to sit beside her. I had to lift up her shirt slightly, making a faint blush come over my face. As soon as my fingers came into contact with her skin, I became slightly dizzy. I worked slowly, taking in the feel of her skin. It was warm now, instead of cold like before. First, I cleaned the wound out with the antiseptic very carefully. I didn't want to hurt her more. Then, I began stitching the wound up. I wiped up the blood that trickled out every now and then. It took around sixteen stitches. I decided to put a bandage over it to keep it cleaner. Then, I pulled the shirt back down over it.

I sat there, watching her sleep for quite a long time. She was so beautiful when she slept. Actually, she was beautiful all the time. I came to the decision that I hated love, especially when I knew I could never have her like I wanted. "Zelda?" I asked, seeing if she would move or open her eyes. Nothing. "Zelda?" I asked one more time. Again nothing. I figured now would be my only chance to tell her. When she was unconscious. "Well, I just wanted to tell you something. I sure hope you can't hear me because that would be awkward." I laughed silently. "You see, I have this crush on someone. Well, maybe more than a crush. I don't know. I just...well, um, actually that person would be you." I stopped and blushed, even though she couldn't see it. "Zelda, I really like you. A lot." I stopped myself and got up slowly. I had to get away from that beautiful, tantalizing face for a moment. I didn't get very far because I felt a small hand wrap itself around my arm.

"Link." Zelda's voice was soft. "Sit back down."

I turned around and saw her lovely violet eyes staring at me. I almost died. "Okay." I couldn't say no! She had me under a trance, I swear! I sat back down. Her hand was still clinging to my arm and she saw that I noticed.

"Sorry." Did she just blush? No, of course not. She released my arm quickly and closed her eyes for a moment. "Is that true?"

My heart sped up. "What?" I carefully asked.

"Do you feel something for me?" She opened her eyes and looked into mine deeply.

My tongue was tied and I felt my face flush a bright red. "May-maybe." I bit my lip and tried not to shake too much.

"Tell me, Link." She touched my hand, making a warm feeling overcome me.

I gulped. "Yes." I said in a very quiet whisper.

Zelda's eyes lit up and she smiled. She was happy? "Link, I can't believe you just said that. I have had a crush on you ever since I rode one the back of Epona with you and helped you defeat Ganondorf." She paused and blushed. "Well, actually, maybe it's more than a crush."

My eyes widened. "What do you mean?" I pressed.

"I mean, I would think about you every day and hope that you would come riding to see me sometime." She was going to say more, I thought, but then stopped and looked away, embarrassed.

I turned her face back to mine. "That's funny." I bent down and whispered in her ear. "I was like that too. Only it was worse for me I bet." I felt her shiver from the whisper, and I sat back up and looked at her for a long time. "Zelda, what would you do if I kissed you right now?"

She thought for a moment. "I would reach up and press your lips against mine harder and it would become very passionate and would result in you asking me to go on a picnic with you when I recovered." She smiled as I neared her face with mine. I paused just above her face and breathed on her lips softly before pressing my lips against hers gently. She did exactly what she said she was going to do, and it did become passionate. I nearly fainted. It felt so right. I was actually kissing the princess of Hyrule in _my _house! I pulled away from the mind numbing kiss and looked into Zelda's eyes, smiling.

"You know, I could get used to that." I smirked.

She just smiled. "I could too." She paused. "Most definitely."

"Well, do you want to, um, go for a picnic when you heal?" I laughed, knowing that I had done what she predicted.

"Of course! Then, afterwards, we could go stargazing...or something." She laughed quietly.

"Yeah." I looked at her with questioning eyes. "Don't you have to get back to the castle?"

She looked so sad all of a sudden. Then, she just looked thoughtful. "No." She said rather forcefully. "I'm going to stay here until I recover. If that's okay."

I felt a little uncertain. Not about her staying, but about how her father would act when he found out where she had been. "Yeah, it's fine. What about your father though?"

"Who cares about him." It was more of a statement than a question. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Whatever you say _princess_." She looked at me with a thin, golden eyebrow cocked.

"I'm not the princess in this house!" She looked at me playfully, while trying to look irritated. She failed miserably. "I hate being the princess. I'd much rather live here."

I smirked. "With me?"

She looked embarrassed for a moment. "Well...I..._guess. _Just so I can have your delicious soup all the time." She winked.

"Well, I would be more than willing to put up with your presence."

"Yeah, well, whatever. I think I need more sleep..." She was already drifting off, dreaming of who knows what. I just sat there watching her until I fell asleep with my head rested beside her.

(A/N: So, how was it? Good, bad, neutral? Anyways, ya think I should do a sequel? I'm a little uncertain about doing one. Review please. But if you don't, I won't hate you. _Too _badly. Hehe. -Grins Evilly-)


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